September Status Update

September was a month of sciatic nerves, Stephen King, a staycation, and SO MUCH Fargo.

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A lot can change in a year, 2020 is a BIG indication of that. This time last year I raised £350 for MFR Cash for Kids by running 5K a day for the whole of September, and it was one of the hardest, silliest, but ultimately one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done. This year I was planning doing the same, but after hurting my ankle (and subsequently, leg) during Lockdown I haven’t been running for the majority of 2020. I really miss that! I miss not being in pain the whole time! A few doctor and physio appointments this month revealed my leg pain is actually “sciatic irritation due to postural changes”. What is that? Basically months of staying at home slouching playing games and hunching over webcams have actually injured me. Being lazy actually hurt me. With diagnosis hopefully complete I’ve since been stretching, more active, and most importantly, more focussed on my posture for perhaps…the first time in my life. It’s made a difference, and the last few weeks have seen a big change in pain reduction and how sore I am- things are actually getting better. I might be able to get running again just in time for a season full of cold northern winds and rainstorms. Yay?

After reading and enjoying Stephen King’s On Writing last month, this month I decided to revisit the author properly for the first time in some while, and eagerly jumped-in to Pet Sematary. The title had always sidestepped me for whatever reason, so returning to some previously-missed dark Stephen King horror was always going to be rewarding and comforting in the weirdest possible sense. I was ready. There’s an audiobook version narrated by Dexter’s Michael C. Hall and this is something I listened to over a week and a bit, completely engrossed, disturbed, chilled, and just absolutely revelling in it if I’m honest. I’ve been a bit up and down with audiobooks previously, but the narration here is absolutely incredible, and Hall completely sells the dark, twisted, harrowing tale, while frequently ramping up tension and absolute dread. I’m an audiobok convert! I need to do a post of my favourite books at some point, and while this would probably not quite get ranked, Pet Sematary is definitely in my top 3 from Stephen King. Entertainment Weekly have a great retroactive piece on the book (and films). It’s quite spoilery but it’s worth a read if you’ve finished it!

Something that had equally eluded me previously was the film Fargo. Released in 1996, I watched the film a whole 22 years later in 2018 and loved it when I did finally get round to it. This month I’ve done something similar with the spin-off tv series of the same name, but thankfully only 6 years late this time. It’s absolutey brilliant and something that really hooked me this month. The tv series is mostly separate from the film with each season being an anthology piece with their own stories and characters. The first season feels a lot like a spiritual sequel that builds on the film’s tropes but it gives characters and scenarios more time to mature. It’s easily was one of the best things I’ve ever watched on tv…or it was, until I then watched the second season. Season 2 is a sad, tragic, and beautiful 10-parter about people misunderstanding the hell out of each other, being in a watershed moment in history, and having to brace for future change while dealing with much bigger concepts. I feel like I’m under-selling; it’s incredibly accomplished, and always just so much more than standard cop v murder case fare. The third season is equally as bold and brave, and existentially questions the meaning of it’s own stories and characters and cause and effect logic. All three seasons are beautifully profound. Staggeringly so. I honestly wish I could watch them all for the first time again but encourage anyone reading to check them out.

This month I’ve been back at work, in daily routine, doing the house chores, and everything feels mostly back to normal, at least on a surface level. After having to cancel both holidays and guesting at weddings earlier this year -and with not much event-wise on the horizon- Ailish and I decided to have a weekend break in Inverness and nearby Nairn. We’re just home. We visited Loch Ness, went shopping, ate great food, and honestly this was just a weekend that I was needing for too long- It’s great to get a change in scenery, switch off, and honestly just relax for a few days. I will do an actual longer post on our Loch Ness trip later- there’s some initial photos up on my Instagram.

Next month things are becoming quieter, and slowing down again as the weather gets colder. It’s hard to believe that it will be October already after it feels like the year has even to get started, a year that really just didnt seem to happen at all. Coming home from work, locking the door, and getting the blankets, that’s what autumn and winter is all about, at least thats what I’m hoping. It’s going to be a great time to catch up with lots of games and books!

August Status Update

August was a month of books, boardgames, and “back to normal”.

I’ve been posting here a lot less than what I’d like to recently, and the main reason for that is that things are finally going “back to normal”. With lockdown fully eased in Scotland (wear your damn mask please), shops are open, schools are open, and I’m now back at work, five days a week. It’s good to get out of the house and do things a bit more regularly again, but the whole thing so far feels a lot like a dream: honestly, where the hell have the last few months gone? I’m finding the days having a similar effect, and after doing not much for so long it’s bizarre suddenly having responsibility, appointments, and an actual sense of time again. Night times are a crazy spin of dinner, TV, bed, and days are frequently over before they feel as if they’ve even begun, my energy levels mysteriously depleted. I’m hoping this will all balance out soon.

With businesses, places, and venues opening back up, this month I went for a few lunches, got a haircut, went shopping, and even later in the month, went to the cinema. The first outing was on a sunny Sunday to Forse of Nature, where we sat outside to eat, sat on the (sometimes wet) grass, and had a wander round the grounds. Lunch and company were great, we saw ducks, and I may have fallen in a ditch in the woods, but the best feeling about it all was just how relaxed and normal everything felt- some very long overdue reassurance for me and my doom mentality the last few months. Equally great was getting to drive to Inverness and go shopping later in the month, buying lots of books, having lunch, visiting friends and then heading home. It feels good to break up things again with such days, but arrows, facemasks, and distancing in shops are of course a constant reminder that things aren’t perfect quite yet, and might not be for a while.

This month -and year, if i’m honest- I’ve been trying to read a lot more than what I would normally. After reading the first in the His Dark Materials trilogy late last year -Northern Lights- this month I jumped into the follow-up The Subtle Knife. Against consensus, I found the first book in the series as just okay, but could see the enormous potential of both the world and the series. The second book opens up a lot faster and vastly expands the world(s) of the series by introducing some really great characters and concepts from the outset. With initial world-building and introductions from the previous book out of the way I far preferred it’s pacing and focus enormously, and got through it with enthusiasm quite quickly. The third and final book in the trilogy The Amber Spyglass which i’m reading now expands with possibility and wonder, but so far it’s taking me a lot longer to get through. The other book I read this month was On Writing by Stephen King, and after reading plentiful amounts of his work over the years, I found this incredibly rewarding. There’s a lot of good advice in here for aspiring story tellers -I have post-it notes on pages to prove it- but I far preferred the more autobiographical sections and passages, which were often just as interesting.

In August I continued playing in two Dungeons and Dragons campaigns with my two very different characters. Panwick the Pilfer is an agile and sneaky heist Halfling extraordinaire trying to stay alive while Henk is a Half-Orc Barbarian who often misses the point and lacks subtlety. I enjoy both characters and games, and next month i’m looking into starting some solo rpgs and journalling on the side, for even further escapism. With us largely house bound these last few months there’s been frequent online D&D sessions but my partner and I have been playing lots of boardgames too. This month I bought Santa Monica for us to play together, and initial impressions are pretty good. The game is an easy breezy card drafing operation where you build a beach front and then attract tourists to gain victory points, mini engine-builder style. We need to play more and especially as part of a group but so far I can safely say I LOVE THE THEME AND ART SO MUCH.

While I know lockdown, and Covid, and 2020 are all far from over it’s good to be feeling a lot better about things, and optimism is something I’m feeling a bit more now both mentally and physically. The year, and holiday, and all the weddings we were going to and so much more are written off, but I’m feeling creative and ambitious and have plenty of ideas and projects lined up for the coming months and winter ahead. It’s time to try and get things back on track!

“The scariest moment is always just before you start.”

-Stephen King